Understanding Cairo : the logic of a city out of control

Author(s)

Bibliographic Information

Understanding Cairo : the logic of a city out of control

David Sims ; with a foreword by Janet Abu-Lughod

American University in Cairo Press, 2012

  • : pbk

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Note

"With a new Postscript: Revolutionary Cairo one year on."--Cover

"First paperback edition published in 2012 by the American University in Cairo Press."--T.p. verso

Includes bibliographical references (p. 335-345) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book moves beyond superficial generalizations about Cairo as a chaotic metropolis in the developing world into an analysis of the ways the city’s eighteen million inhabitants have, in the face of a largely neglectful government, built and shaped their own city. Using a wealth of recent studies on Greater Cairo and a deep reading of informal urban processes, the city and its recent history are portrayed and mapped: the huge, spontaneous neighborhoods; housing; traffic and transport; city government; and its people and their enterprises. The book argues that understanding a city such as Cairo is not a daunting task as long as pre-conceived notions are discarded and care is taken to apprehend available information and to assess it with a critical eye. In the case of Cairo, this approach leads to a conclusion that the city can be considered a kind of success story, in spite of everything.

Table of Contents

List of Maps List of Illustrations List of Tables Abbreviations and Acronyms Acknowledgments Foreword Janet Abu-Lughod Introduction Imaging Cairo Cairo is Egypt and Egypt is Cairo A History of Modern Cairo: Three Cities in One Informal Cairo Triumphant Housing Real and Speculative The Desert City Today Working in the City City on the Move: A Complementary Informality? Governing Cairo Summing Up: Cairo Serendipity? Postscript: Revolutionary Cairo One Year On Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

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